Stratford-on-avon

A picturesque portrait of Stratford-on-Avon in the 1920s, evocatively photographed by British cinema pioneer Cecil Hepworth.

Gorgeous footage of a sun-dappled River Avon, photographed from a moving boat, sets the scene for this gentle cinematic meander around Shakespeare's Stratford. Lensed by Cecil Hepworth, one of British filmmaking's foremost pioneers, it features the leisurely extended shots and slow fades between scenes that were his trademark. A charming vintage travelogue evoking a peaceful world of long ago.

Yet while a cursory glance at this film might suggest that the Stratford of Hepworth's day was unspoilt by the crass forces of commerce and modernity, closer scrutiny reveals that the tourist machine was at work even then. Eagle-eyed viewers will note that the Tudor house next to the Garrick Inn has been gaudily renamed the 'Shakespearean Souvenir Depot'.